Amber Waves presents a good view of current trends affecting American agriculture, and should be of interest to ag executives, policymakers, and farmers themselves.

The site, a companion to Amber Waves magazine, is produced five times per year (with regular updates in between) by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service. Given its governmental parentage, this isn't the place to go for critical looks at American ag policy, but it does a very good job explaining the bad as well as the good effects of that policy on the industry. For example, a recent story detailed how changing tax policy, especially the estate tax, affects farms of different types in different ways.

In addition to the tax piece, the November issue has stories on where Americans shop for food (think Wal-mart, not Safeway), how globalization affects the dairy industry, and the importance of raising educational standards in rural America. Each article includes links to source material, usually U.S. government publications, in a handy “This article is drawn from...” section.

Other regular content includes a wealth of news coverage and reports on various statistics and indicators.